When Love Is Inconvenient
by Pandora of Ithilien
Summary: Shada's Karrde's new 2IC (second-in-command) and life is good...except that Shada and Karrde are head over heels for each other and won't admit it. Trouble ensues.
1. And So It Begins

Disclaimer: The people belong to Mr. Lucas and Mr. Zahn, but I'm giving the characters some new things to do, and giving you a new Karrde/Shada romance. There are too few of those, you know. Only _three_ at my last count, plus mentions that they're together iin some other fics.

_Chapter One: _Shada D'ukal sat at the bar in the club called The Black Rose. She stared into

her glass of Tokay, not really seeing the amber liquid. Instead, she was preoccupied with

her troubles, of which she had several. First off, she had been banished forever from her

home on Emberlene. Shada was sad about this, but sadder now that she knew that the

people she'd believed in – the Elders – and the group she'd belonged to – the Mistryl

warriors – believed in a worthless, unjust cause. Worse, they were dragging all of

Emberlene down with them. Technically, though, anything connected to Emberlene

wasn't her problem anymore. What _was_ her problem was the fact that she had nowhere to

go now. Shada had absolutely no idea what she was going to do. She needed work, but

she'd already tried the New Republic, and they didn't want her. The only one who seemed

to...and there was another trouble. Talon Karrde. The whole time she'd been helping him

search for Jor'j Car'das, he'd been very friendly, but she figured it was politeness. That

was okay – much better than most of the males she'd worked with, who'd been anything

_but_ polite. The bad part was...well...truth be told, she wasn't exactly sure. Something

about him bothered her, but she wasn't sure why. To complicate things further, he wanted

to talk to her. That was why she was here, to meet with him. But _why_ did he want to talk

to her? A job offer? Or to explain why he no longer required her services? Not that it

mattered, really. He clouded her head, so logically it was a bad idea to work for him

anyway. Shada sighed. Life could really suck, she decided glumly.

Over near the door, a man watched her stare at her glass. Talon Karrde wondered

what the black haired woman was thinking. She seemed very preoccupied, and it caused

him to hesitate. What if she was unwilling to accept his offer? What then? It hit him

suddenly that he really wanted her to stick around, though he didn't know why. Karrde

felt that Shada was somehow important to him, but that made no sense. It didn't matter,

he decided. You're here to offer her a job, he reminded himself. Nothing more and

nothing less. But if that's true, a treacherous part of his mind whispered, then why are you

so nervous?

Shada looked up to see Karrde walking towards her. Kreth, she thought. Why

_now_, when I'm not ready to deal with him? But he was almost up to her now; she would

have to make herself _be_ ready.

Karrde felt oddly uneasy as Shada turned to face him. There was something about

those emerald eyes...so deep a man could drown in them. He shook such thoughts off. He

had no business thinking that way about Shada. To distract himself and get this business

started, he said, "Hello, Miss D'ukal. How are you?" That sounds wonderful, Karrde, he

thought bitterly. Real smart.

He sounds as uncomfortable as I feel. Wonder why? Shada ignored the thought,

because she had to respond, and side conversations in one's head are very distracting.

"Hello, Karrde. I'm alright, I guess. How about you?" Very smooth, D'ukal. Now what?

Karrde blinked, surprised by the oddness in her voice. "May I sit down?" he asked quickly. She arched a brow and responded dryly, "Well, since I'm waiting to talk to you, sure." He slid into the seat across from her. A server saw him and took his drink order. When it came, he took a sip and cleared his throat.

"Well, Miss D'ukal, I'm here to ask you if you want a permanent job with my organization. I have an opening and I think you'll fit the requirements perfectly. "Uh-huh," she replied. "And what exactly is this job? Oh, and, call me Shada. I'm not big on the 'Miss D'ukal' thing."

Karrde smiled slightly. "Shada it is then. And the position is second-in-command. I really think you'd do well there." He studied her hopefully and watched as her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You already have a 2IC, Karrde. Mara Jade," she said.

"Ah. You're right. But, you see, Mara's leaving soon. She's getting married. To Luke Skywalker. So she's decided to focus on her Jedi studies and that means she's leaving. Which also means that I need a new 2IC, so...will you take the job?"

_"Skywalker_! She's marrying _Skywalker_! How'd _that _happen?" Karrde laughed. "I'm not sure, but it's true. Are you accepting my offer or not?"

She was _going_ to turn him down. He messed with her head just by being in the same room. How could she work for him? But then she met his eyes and her choice altered. She wanted this job and she would take it. She could suppress whatever her problem was and do her job. "All right. I accept. Thank you." He shook his head and replied sincerely, "No, thank _you_." Then he left. She watched him go silently. In the back of her mind, a voice whispered, And so it begins...


	2. Plots and Discoveries

Not mine, I tell you! Dude, I wouldn't be worried about Catholic high school tuition if it was. I could probably _buy_ the darned school!

**Chapter 2: **Two weeks later, Shada got her few belongings together and walked toward the main landing port of the Imperial Palace where she was to board the _Wild Karrde_. Her heart pounded; she had no idea why. Reaching up, she checked to see that her hairpicks were in place. Although they appeared merely decorative, they were lacquered Zenji needles that served her as weapons in a pinch. They were all there, so she checked the knives strapped to the insides of her boots and made sure her blaster was fully loaded and that she had a spare power pack. It was routine for her, except she'd done it 10 minutes ago and knew nothing had changed. She did it to calm and distract herself, but it wasn't working. So she ran over the three weeks of training she'd had with Mara Jade to ensure that she knew all she needed to about being Karrde's 2IC. It still didn't distract her.

Seated in the cockpit of his ship, Talon Karrde was no calmer than his newest employee, a fact that did not go unnoticed by his crew. They all knew Shada and her time with them was fresh in everyone's minds. When Shada boarded and seemed as off-balance as their captain, gears began to turn in their heads. In the mess area that day, many bets were laid down and many theories debated over what would happen next. Most were in agreement that the two had it bad for each other, so most of the activity was over details like first kiss and who would cave in first. Favorite kissing point was Karrde's office, but no one could agree on who would admit their feelings first. Both Karrde and Shada were remarkably stubborn. The romantic ones concocted insane matchmaking plots while their more cynical comrades laughed.

Aves, a close associate of Karrde's, knew the plots would never work. Instead, he proposed a subtle encouragement, involving complex ideas and help from the queen of sneaky plans, Mara Jade. He sent a quick message to Coruscant and was rewarded when not only Mara, but her fiance and her future in-laws agreed to help out. This was a windfall; everyone knew that Councilor Organa Solo had spent _years_ playing matchmaker for her brother. She had dozens of plans, many of which only required a few alterations to fit their new targets.

Both Shada and Karrde were oblivious to the plans being made for them, but they had begun to notice their attraction to one another. It scared Shada; this was the sort of thing she'd always avoided, believing that romance would bring nothing but trouble. Karrde wasn't so concerned...or he wouldn't have been, except that he felt more than mere attraction. He wasn't sure how _much_ more, but he felt he had to find out. If it was what he was starting to think, he was in real trouble. It was at times like these he thought of Han Solo. Deep feelings for a woman had changed Solo's entire life; if Karrde was in as deep as he feared, what would change for him? Talon Karrde had first felt what he thought was true fear on Myrkr, when he'd realized that Grand Admiral Thrawn would hunt him to the edge of the galaxy. He knew now he'd been wrong; true fear was when you had no idea what your mind, and more importantly, your heart, were trying to tell you.


	3. The Turbolift: Part One

No, it's not mine, but hey, I can borrow it, can't I?

_Chapter 3:_ The first plot went into action about a month after Shada started. By this time, they were at one of Karrde's bases, at Qexis. The base had a turbolift, which was necessary to the plan. This idea, one of the less wacky plots Karrde's people had developed, was meant to be only a preclude to the real attack, but everyone, even their helpers on Coruscant, thought it would help to break the ice.

Shada rarely used the turbolift, prefering to take the stairs, but today, Shirlee Faughn, one of the pilots, was showing her around the base, and Faughn insisted on the turbolift. Unbeknownst to Shada, Faughn was only doing this as an excuse to get Shada on the turbolift. Faughn, after all, was a member of what they were calling the matchmaking conspiracy.

While Faughn executed her part of the plan, Aves went to Karrde's office. As he walked there, he reviewed the plan in his head. Faughn was dealing with Shada – he wasn't sure how, but he trusted in the pilot's abilities. His job was to get Karrde out of the office where he had been spending more and more time, on the pretext that a problem had arisen with one of the outposts they were setting up. A problem had been engineered in case Karrde checked later, so no worries there. After both Karrde and Shada were on the turbolift, Faughn would suddenly remember an urgent call to her sister on Dantooine that she just had to make, and Aves would make sure Shada didn't follow her off by mentioning that Dankin wanted to talk to her about the self-defense classes she'd thought to start, and then he would receive a comm message from Chin that they needed to discuss something, and he too would leave. Neither Karrde nor Shada would follow, because neither wished to seem like they were avoiding the other – which they were. Then came the easy part. The turbolift would be stopped between two floors. He would call Karrde on the comlink and explain that there had been a malfunction and that they would try to correct it as quickly as possible – which wasn't true. They would wait a while, but eventually would restart the turbolift. Aves smiled to himself. This would be interesting.

Part one went off without a hitch. Aves got Karrde out of the office, and when the turbolift doors opened, there stood Shada and Faughn. Faughn put on an act of mild surprise; Shada didn't react at all. Time to begin Phase Two. Faughn suddenly groaned aloud. "What?" asked Shada. Faughn grimaced. "It's my sister on Dantooine. I said I'd call her and I completely forgot." The car stopped at a floor and she got off. Shada started to follow; Aves caught her wrist. "You might as well come down to the ground floor with us, Shada. Dankin wants to see if you're serious about those self-defense classes." Shada stayed on. A few minutes later, Aves' comlink beeped. "Aves here. Uh-huh, yeah, OK. Be right there. Chief, Shada, I gotta go. Chin wants to talk to me. You know where you're headed." He too got off, and like he'd figured, neither followed him. He activated his comlink. "Begin Phase Three."

Karrde was surprised to suddenly find himself alone with Shada in such close quarters. He felt a bit uneasy, but shook the feeling off. All at once, the car jerked and stopped; the lights flickered and went out as well. There was a slight bang. "_Shassa_," he heard Shada hiss softly. The lights went back on. Karrde saw he'd been thrown at the doors; Shada was crouched in the corner, looking very annoyed. She looked up at him. "Figures," she muttered. "The one time I take the stupid turbolift, it breaks down. How typical." Karrde couldn't help but grin slightly at that.

Shada wished Karrde would stop grinning. It was throwing her off balance. But why? She still wasn't sure. Oh, well. She stood up. As she did so, Karrde's comlink beeped. "This is Karrde. Yes, Shada and I are on the turbolift. I see. Well, just do your best." He turned to Shada. "That was Elkin. He said there'd been a sudden turbolift breakdown and they were working on it, but that it could take some time," he explained. Shada frowned. "So we're stuck, huh?" she said dryly. Karrde threw her a mock glare. "So, don't want to be stuck with me then? I'm hurt." Shada scowled. "I didn't mean that at all. I just – oh, never mind." He shook his head. "Shada, Shada, Shada. I was joking. Couldn't you tell?" She stared at him, and then muttered, "Oh."

Shada was very confused. Why was Karrde teasing her? It was almost as though he was flir – OK, she was_ not_ going there. She turned her mind to the odd coincidences of the day. Aves and Faughn both had tailor-made excuses to leave her and Karrde alone in the turbolift, and then, not two minutes later, the turbolift breaks down. What the hell was going on? She looked at Karrde, who was pretending to be very interested in his shoes. "Isn't it lucky for Aves and Faughn that they just _happened_ to have reasons to leave right before this 'breakdown'?" she asked him slowly as the pieces began to fall into place. He studied her, a frown beginning to form on his face. Then he replied, "It is, but what are you implying?"

Shada shrugged. "That they're playing a prank and the turbolift isn't malfunctioning. They shut it down." He stared at her. "Why though?" She laughed sardonically. "Because this is one of the most prank-obsessed crews in the galaxy, that's why." He nodded. "True," he conceded. "However, this is going a bit far even for them." Karrde wasn't sure if Shada was right, but she had a point.

There was silence for a moment, and then Karrde decided to comment on the evil smile slowly spreading across Shada's face. "What are you smiling about?" Her eyes glinted dangerously. "Just my plans for revenge. After all, they can't get away with this. Don't you agree?" Karrde grinned. "Hmm. I think you're right."

While the two captives plotted revenge, the matchmaking team prepared to turn the lift back on. Elkin hit the button. No response. He tried again. Nothing. "Aves?" he called. Aves hurried over. After a moment, he remembered something. Turbolifts shut down while being used tended to jam. In other words, Karrde and Shada were now really trapped. Which meant much more trouble than expected. "Uh-oh," he murmured.

A/N: So, how was it? Let me know!


	4. The Turbolift: Part Two

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, which, considering that I like to write AUs, is probably a good thing...

**_Chapter 4 - The Turbolift; Part Two:_** Shada looked down at her comlink, a sudden thought niggling in her mind. If someone had forgotten to turn off their comm...

"You're going to call someone?" Karrde asked. Shada shook her head.

"No, I'm hoping someone was dumb enough to leave their comlink on, so I could eavesdrop. Hold on... Oh, there's one." Karrde could hear voices, but they were indistinct. Shada was listening intently, and suddenly went a strange shade of pale.

"They can't think... oh... that's completely... I don't believe it."

"What?"

She didn't answer, simply tossed him the comlink. He listened for a moment, and felt shock course through his system. They couldn't have figured it out. No, they were grasping at straws, playing games. But they seemed to think that Shada... no, she'd been horrified by the idea. Though, that could be for various reasons, the optimistic part of him he always tried to silence pointed out. And an idea popped into his mind, one that would serve more than one purpose.

"Well, this gives us a new lever, don't you agree?" he said mildly. Shada gave him a quizzical look; she was utterly confused.

"I'm not following you."

"The crewers of the Wild Karrde obviously have styled themselves as matchmakers, and how better to get back at them by making them think their plans are working?"

Shada blinked. "You're insane." But a pensive look came over her face. She needed to know, didn't she? Needed to know where she stood, and where he stood. Maybe this was the best way to find out.

She smiled at him. "You're insane, but this could work. OK. Let's try it."

Karrde wasn't sure if her agreement pleased him or worried him. He knew he would be playing with fire here, something he hadn't risked in a long, long time. Getting burned wasn't a tempting prospect, but if he played this right, he might just avoid that. He turned his mind to the best ways of fooling his people, and shared them with Shada. They had just agreed on a plan of action when the lift jolted and began moving again.

A/N: Sorry about not updating... I went off Star Wars for a while. R&R! Also, check out my other SW fics, Musings of a Lover, Legacy: Padawan In Hiding, Daughter of the Shadows, and Shadowed Perils.


	5. The Imp and the Jedi

Disclaimer: Not mine, except for those you don't know.

**_Chapter 5 - The Imp and the Jedi:_** Two weeks went by. Karrde and Shada were working at fooling the others. Little things, nothing overt, because that would be suspicious. What they didn't know was that the crewers knew there was something not right, because there was no way those two had broken down already. Still, as Aves pointed out, if they were playing their own game, it might backfire on them and stop being a game.

Shada was in her room when her comm beeped. "Yeah?" she said hitting the button.

"Shada?" Karrde said. He sounded annoyed. "Could you come to my office?"

"Sure."

She walked to his office, knocked, and went inside. "What's going on? You seem to be in a bad mood all of a sudden."

"I've just received a message. Apparently neither the New Republic or the Imperials really trust us, so they're both sending liaisons. These people will be staying here for a while, and when they leave, they remain our primary contacts with the governments. I don't like invasions, even ones this small."

Shada nodded. "I can't blame you, but I'm not surprised, considering. It's actually almost trusting of them to only send one person each. Let's just hope the reps don't kill each other."

"Good point."

The next day was when both representatives were supposed to show up. The NR rep came first. She hailed the base as she entered the atmosphere and about five minutes later, a starfighter of an uncommon design had landed. The fighter was enough to tell Karrde who it was; only one person in the New Republic had a fighter of that design.

"Hello, Karrde," Anaia Naberrie said briskly, taking off her flight helmet. "Shada, Aves," she added, nodding to them.

"Wow, they sent a Jedi," Aves drawled. Naberrie fixed him with an icy glare.

"And you have a problem with that?"

Shada bit back a laugh. Aves was clearly unnerved, probably since Naberrie's eyes had shifted from pale green to dark, stormy gray. Aves shrugged. "Not particularly," he said. "Just wondering why."

Naberrie smiled wryly. "I'm an Intelligence officer, and the only one among the high-ups who..." She trailed off, looking as though she wished she'd stayed quiet.

"The only one willing to work with fringe people?" Karrde finished for her, his voice icy. Naberrie nodded.

"Pretty much. It's disgusting really, but some of my colleagues are more arrogant than the cockiest nobles."

"Why aren't you?" Shada asked. Naberrie shrugged.

"I'm from Nar Shaddaa, originally. I was a thief; you think working with you lot is going to bother me?"

Anything they might have said was cut off by the arrival of the Imperial rep. His name was Alec Walst, and, after he introduced himself to Karrde, Shada, and Aves, he turned to his NR counterpart. The two eyed each other cautiously. "Think they can be civil?" Aves muttered.

"Mr. Walst. I've heard of you." Naberrie held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Charmed. You've got quite a reputation yourself, Naberrie," he responded, a touch of dryness in his voice.

"Shall we go inside?" Karrde said mildly. "There are some things I believe we need to discuss. If you'll follow me?"

A few hours later, Shada knocked on the door to Naberrie's room. The other woman didn't even get up to open the door; it simply opened. Jedi tricks, Shada assumed.

Naberrie looked up from the datapad she was reading. "Oh, hello, Shada. Sorry about the door thing; it's an instinct." Shada shrugged.

Naberrie fixed her with eyes that were now blue. "Shada, is there something wrong?"

"No. I just thought you should know; the general opinion of you and Walst is really low, and you should watch yourself. I've spoken to Walst."

Naberrie put down her datapad. "I hadn't noticed," she said, her voice wry. "I can't blame them. The smugglers and pirates I know hate outsiders." Shada frowned at her and Naberrie laughed before continuing. "Ask some of the smugglers who frequent the lower levels of Coruscant about the mysterious slicer known as Anya. I'm not spying on them, I just like being there. It must be from growing up on Nar Shaddaa."

"I guess so," Shada agreed. "You know, Naberrie, you're certainly not a normal Jedi."

"No, and Luke hates that. He keeps trying to convert me, and I"m having none of it." She grinned. "And call me Anaia. Or even Anya. Either one."

"All right, Anaia. So, what are you supposed to be doing here, exactly?"

"Observing, mostly. Making sure we can trust you, all that. Checking out the Imp rep, though I didn't tell you that last bit."

"Of course not. Isn't that indiscreet?"

"Sure it is. But, if you say something to my bosses, I'll just deny it, and they;ll take my word for it." Her eyes changed color again, becoming a pale violet.

"True," Shada agreed. "What is it with your eyes, anyway? It's unnerving almost everyone."

"I'm not sure, exactly. I think one of my mother's relatives had eyes like mine, though I can't be sure. And I know it's unnerving; I like being unnerving. They change with mood. They should be purple now; I'm in a good mood. Stay away if my eyes are black; I'm liable to snap on the first person who looks at me funny then." Shada raised an eyebrow.

"You won't be an outsider for long," she muttered. "You're as insane as most of the crew."

"Yeah, Ghent said something to that effect once. I took it as a compliment. Just hope you never meet my best friend Yuki. Married with two kids, and she's still as hyper as she was when we were 12."

"Right..." Shada decided it was time to leave.

"Oh, Shada?"

"Yes?"

"I think it's my duty to warn you, since I know what my sister is like."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah. Your coworkers and their plan?"

Shada froze. "You... how do you know about that?"

"Because they enlisted Mara's help, and Leia happened to overhear, and offered her own assistance. Luke and I have been on the receiving end of Leia's plans before, so we agreed that I ought to warn you."

"Thanks." Shada left, feeling vaguely ill. She wasn't going to tell Karrde about this, no, definitely not. Saying something would be admitting that she was worried that their plans would actually succeed, which they wouldn't. Ever. She was sure of it. Wasn't she?

A/N: Smiles innocently Oh, didn't I mention that my SW fics are all connected? Yeah, I'm creating my own alternate EU. I tried not to give too much away about Anaia here, though I did tip my hand a bit. R&R!


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